Dalvin Cook was released by the Minnesota Vikings this offseason and has yet to find a new home but is linked to potentially signing with the Miami Dolphins. In the midst of his free agency, the star running back still has a domestic violence investigation hanging over his head.
The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that Cook and his lawyers offered his ex-girlfriend U.S. Army Sgt. Gracelyn Trimble $1 million to send a letter to the NFL that would “relieve him of any wrongdoing” in his part of the alleged domestic violence incident that took place in 2020.
Hush Money
In 2021, a civil lawsuit was filed against Cook that alleges he physically assaulted Trimble at his Inver Grove Heights home on Nov. 19, 2020. Trimble claimed that she flew to Minnesota to attempt to break up with Cook and gather her things from his home but he then physically assaulted her.
According to Rochelle Olson and Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune, the running back “grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open.”
The offer allegedly came after Cook’s lawyers initially offered $800,000 in exchange for an affidavit that would deny Trimble’s claims of abuse against the ex-Vikings running back. She told them that she wasn’t going to sign a “fraudulent affidavit” and Cook’s counsel sent a fresh offer a few hours later for the $1 million in exchange for the letter to the NFL to deny any wrongdoing.
Trimble’s attorney, Daniel Cragg, wrote that Cook’s offer was an attempt to get his client to commit perjury, and should be used as evidence in court. Trimble has already testified under oath that she was assaulted.
“This does not pass the smell test, and can and should be admissible as evidence of Cook’s consciousness of guilt,” Cragg’s filing read.
Innocent
Cook has remained consistent with his claims of being innocent. He filed a defamation lawsuit in Hennepin County against his ex in 2021 and claimed that she attempted to break in his home and physically assaulted him. Both cases are still pending, and many believe that is why teams are hesitant to sign the free agent.
He has been on the market now for six weeks, and it hasn’t helped that running backs are experiencing low contract offers.
The money offer was an attempt to resolve the incident and allow everyone to move on. Cook and his lawyers might investigate how the $1 million offer was leaked to the media, because the court filing was supposed to be sealed.
